Walerian Czuma

Walerian Czuma (24 December 1890-7 April 1962) was a Lieutenant-General of Poland during World War I, the Polish-Soviet War, and World War II.

Biography
Walerian Czuma was born on 24 December 1890 in Niepolomice, Austria-Hungary (present-day Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland). He joined the Polish Legion of Jozef Pilsudski during World War I and was imprisoned in the Butyrka Prison of the Russian Empire after being taken prisoner. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Czuma became the commander of the Polish 5th Rifle Division and fought in Siberia during the Russian Civil War before being imprisoned in Moscow and later returned to Poland. He took over the Polish 19th Infantry Division in 1922 and at the outbreak of World War II in 1939 he commanded Polish forces in Warsaw. He was given the Virtuti Militari for his defense of the city, but was captured by Nazi Germany. Czuma was exiled from Poland by the communists, as he was a general of the capitalist prewar Poland. Walerian Czuma died in Wrexham, Wales on 7 April 1962.